Harmony and Melody
by Maiya9182
Summary: The last time Bella spoke to Edward was when she left their band, seven years ago. What will happen when they meet again, and old feelings rise to the surface? Rated M for future chapters. BxE
1. Chapter 1 This is How a Heart Breaks

**Description: The last time Bella spoke to Edward was when she left their band, seven years ago. What will happen when they meet again, and old feelings rise to the surface?**

**Chapter 1 BPOV**

**Song: "How a Heart Breaks" by "Rob Thomas". **

**Disclaimer: The twilight saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

_Don't you wanna go for a ride  
Just keep your hands inside  
And make the most out of life  
Now don't you take it for granted_

_Life is like a mean machine  
It made a mess outta me  
It left me caught between  
Like an angry dream I was stranded, I was stranded_

And I'm steady but I'm starting to shake  
And I don't know how much more I can take

This is it now  
Everybody get down  
This is all I can take  
This is how a heart breaks  
You take a hit now you feel it break down  
Make you stay wide awake  
This is how a heart breaks

"Bella! Turn that down!" Rosalie screamed at me from her bathroom. Her command was followed by Jasper's laughter.

I pretended I couldn't hear her and turned the music up louder. I sand along with it, but my voice was drowned in the blasting song.

_Don't you wanna go for a ride  
Down to the other side  
Feels so good you could cry  
Now won't you do what I told you  
I remember when you used to be shy  
Yeah, once we were so fine  
You and I why you gotta make it so hard on me_

And I'm sorry but it's not a mistake  
And I'm running but you're getting away  


_This is it now  
Everybody get down  
This is all I can take  
This is how a heart breaks  
You take a hit now you feel it break down  
Make you stay wide awake  
This is how a heart breaks_

__

Yeah, this is how a heart breaks

You're not the best thing that I knew  
Never was never cared too much  
For all this hanging around  
It's just the same thing all the time  
Never get what I want  
Never get too close to the end of the line  
You're just the same thing that I knew back before the time  
When I was only for you

Rose threw my bedroom door open and marched right up to my expensive stereo system. It took her a while to figure what button turned it off, but she finally succeeded and silence filled the room.

She turned to glare at me, but I only laughed.

"We do have neighbors you know," she warned.

"Were they complaining?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Excellent," I laughed.

She shook her head. "God, you and your music Bella. Sometimes…" she trailed off, shaking her head.

"Sometimes what?" I asked, a smile still on my lips.

"Sometimes I wonder why you work in an office when you obviously have a passion for _this_."

The smile instantly fell from my lips. "Maybe it's because I don't have a passion for music."

"And maybe I know there's something you haven't told me, despite us being roommates for the past five years," she shot back. I grimaced. She was too observant sometimes.

Still, I put my poker face in place. "And how long have you had that theory?" I asked coolly.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Oh _please_, Bella, don't try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I know you better than that."

"How long?" I pressed.

"Almost as long as I've known you," she said flatly.

I completely forgot about my poker face and dropped my jaw. "What?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"And you're only bringing it up _now_?" I asked in disbelief. She only shrugged.

"God, Rose—" I started to say, but she cut me off.

"I knew you would tell me when you were ready," she said nonchalantly, like we weren't having the most serious conversation of our friendship.

"Does that sill hold?" I asked quietly.

She sighed heavily. "I'm your best friend, Bella. I'm not going to say no, but I wish you'd let me know this part of you that you've been hiding. Just realize that I won't judge you or take sides or whatever."

I nodded. Rosalie was a better friend than I deserved.

"Got it?" she demanded, turning back to the tough, bitchy Rosalie I knew best.

"Sure do," I promised.

She smiled a genuine smile at me. "Good."

She started for the door, but paused and then turned back to me. "I know you're not working today and we were going to do something together, but I have to run an errand for my mom."

She could see the question in my eyes and continued speaking.

"She got her license suspended and needs me to pick something up from the other side of the city."

I laughed. "How did she—"

"She made me promise not to tell anyone," Rose said. I couldn't help but laugh again. Rosalie's mom was almost exactly like her daughter; crazy, tough, funny, but still incredibly loving.

"Okay, well Jasper and I will see you this afternoon, right?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, for sure. I'll be back around two. Sound good?"

"Yep. See you then," I called as she left my room. I plunked down on my bed and sighed.

Of course Rose would have noticed how the subject of music as a career would make me feel like I was drinking a bottle of vinegar. How could I have hopped otherwise?

I wasn't worried about Rosalie's reaction to the 'incident of senior year', as I liked to call it, but it would reopen the wounds I had closed years ago. I knew that I had to tell her. She had told me every little fact about her, happy and sad, scary and comforting. It was only fair that I tell her everything about me.

"Bella?" Jasper asked with a knock on my open door. I jumped a little in surprise.

"Holy crap, Jasper, you scared me."

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded weakly. He stared at me in uncertainty for a moment.

"So what do you need?" I asked.

"I need help with lunch. We're gonna have this huge waffle thing when Rose gets back and I wanna get the batter and toppings and everything ready to go so we don't end up eating at three."

I pretended to sigh. "Can't you do it on your own?" I pleaded teasingly.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm serious."

I laughed. "Yeah, I know. Can we listen to my music while we work?"

He nodded. "Yeah, sure. It's better than Rose's. Not as good as mine though," he said with a wink. I smacked him playfully.

"Keep telling yourself that."

We made our way to the kitchen and worked efficiently. By noon, we had everything wrapped in saran wrap and in the fridge. We sat on the couch and watched television in comfortable silence.

"So…" Jasper said slowly. I looked at him in surprise. He looked extremely uncomfortable. When was Jasper ever uncomfortable?

"So?" I pressed.

"Did Rose talk to you this morning?"

I frowned. "Yes, of course, I always talk to her when—" I stopped. Oh. He meant _really_ talk to Rosalie. "Uh, yeah," I said awkwardly.

"This…thing you're hiding," he said slowly, carefully. I could see he was trying to find the right words. "Is it something you can share with me too?"

I sighed. "Yeah. It is." We sat in silence for a while, and I was sure he had gone back to watching T.V.

"I think I'll tell you guys at lunch, if that's all right with you," I said quietly.

I didn't look at him, but I knew he was smiling.

Jasper and I watched T.V. straight until one-thirty, when Rosalie got home. Jasper leapt right up and began cooking the waffles, which made me laugh. I was surprised he had survived this long without snacking. He was a guy, after all.

Jasper moved with Rose and I about three years ago. He's her cousin and didn't have enough money for his own apartment yet. He is also a year younger than Rose and I, but he might as well be five years older, as mature as he is.

Before I knew it, we were sitting and eating in hungry silence. A few minutes later we began to eat slower. Slow enough for conversation. It began to feel uncomfortable. I knew Rose and Jasper were waiting for me to say something.

"We're waiting, Bella," Rose said.

I sighed. "Okay." I paused and thought about where to start.

"My best friend in the world lived next door to me, and was born just a few weeks before me. He and I did everything together. And I mean _absolutely everything_."

God, just remembering how much I loved my childhood made my heart start to ache.

"We went to school together, did homework together, ate almost every meal at either his house or mine…he even usually slept over." I paused and fidgeted with the edge of the table.

"One thing that made us really connect was music. I loved singing and writing songs, and he loved writing songs and playing guitar. Naturally, around the time we were fifteen, we made a band. We were amazing, everyone said so. It was usually just him and I, writing duets, but sometimes his brother and sister would join us and we would make a song with drums and piano, too. They liked music, too, but no where near as much as him and I did."

I took a deep breath.

"This is where it goes bad, doesn't it?" Rosalie asked me softly.

I nodded. "I started to like him more than as friends, and it wasn't long before I was in love with him. At the graduation party, we performed and then found out that his mom had arranged for a recording company to watch us. They approached us and said that they wanted to make a CD. We were really excited, and agreed. Then around three in the morning, I heard a noise outside and woke up. I looked out the window, and there he was, kissing a girl. _Really_ kissing her."

"No," Rosalie said.

"Yeah." My eyes were actually starting to tear up, and I hated myself for that. This happened seven years ago, for crying out loud!

"And I just couldn't do music with him. I couldn't spend my life working with him every day, looking at him, knowing he was with someone else when I was so in love with him. It wasn't healthy for me, and even though I wanted music so, so much, I wanted him more, and knowing I couldn't have him was too hard for me."

"So you stopped talking to him?" Jasper asked. It was the first time he had spoke through this conversation.

I shook my head and smiled without humor. "No, _he_ stopped talking to _me_."

They both gasped.

"What an ass," Rose said scathingly.

"No, no," I said, still quick to defend him, even after all these years. "I ruined his chance at the career opportunity of his life. He had the right to be angry. I had known what he wanted since…forever, and I took it from him."

"And you haven't talked to him since?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head. "No. Our relationship was unhealthy. We depended on each other too much. I didn't want that for myself, or for him. So I just ended our friendship."

"And you don't talk to his mom or siblings or anything?" Rose asked.

This question increased the pain in my chest. "No, I don't. I loved his mom so much…she was like my second mom. And his dad, I loved his dad too. His sister was a really, really good friend of mine too, and his brother was the older brother I always wished I had."

They were silent for a few minutes.

"Bella, I think you should call his mom," Rosalie finally said.

"Me too," Jasper agreed.

I gasped. "What? Why?"

"You miss them. I can see you do. You don't have to talk to this guy, actually I would prefer if you didn't, but you should call his parents. I know you miss your wn parents, and you've been missing that part of you since they died. Call his parents."

I didn't speak.

"Bella," Jasper whispered. I looked up at him. "Just try."

We finished eating in silence. It was only when we were almost finished doing dishes that I broke the silence.

"Okay. I'll call her."

I would call Esme.


	2. Chapter 2 Holiday

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. **

**Chapter 2**

It was one in the morning. I had gone to bed three hours ago, and I had yet to fall asleep. I had promised myself I would call Esme in the morning, but now it seemed I wouldn't be able to bear the anticipation any longer.

Would she be glad to hear from me, or would she hate me?

God, it was horrible. Seven years…_seven years_ ago I had left this part of me behind. It was all coming back now, and I hated it. It made me feel like a teenager again. Now I was twenty-five. I was no longer the little girl who was dependent on her parents and all the other people she cared about. Because I couldn't count on other people to make things happen for me. If I wanted something, I was the only one who could make it come true.

Only me.

But the thought of hearing Esme's voice, of being in her warm and motherly embrace…

A part of me longed for the comfort of my mother, and Esme was the closest thing  
I had. Or rather _had_ had.

Giving up, I left my bed and made my way toward my bedroom couch, grabbing my cell phone from my desk as I passed it. I curled up on the couch under the window and stared at the phone in my hand.

It made me feel even worse to realize I still knew the number to the house.

With shaking fingers, I pressed each digit into the phone and held it to my ear as it rang. It was eleven in Forks. Maybe she was asleep already.

"Hello?" a voice asked. My breath caught in my throat. Her voice was exactly like I remembered. Soft, with authority. Like melting caramel…

"Hello?" she asked again.

I cleared my throat. "Hi." It came out sounding strained.

When I didn't continue, she asked, "With whom am I speaking?"

I cleared my throat. "Um…"

Esme was patient. She waited for me to answer.

"It's Bella," I whispered.

Esme gasped quietly, and neither of us spoke for a while. I knew she'd speak when she was ready.

"How are you, Sweetie?" she asked quietly. I could hear the tears in her voice, and it made me cry too. I tiny sob escaped my lips.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Oh, Bella," she sobbed, and before I knew it, we were both crying.

***

Esme and I had talked straight into the morning, and even though I hadn't slept at all, I was feeling more awake than I had for a long time, but also more pain than I had for the same amount of time. We never spoke of the past. Just of our lives in the present. I laughed and smiled through our entire conversation (after we finished crying, of course) and I promised to call her this evening. She even invited me for Thanksgiving two weeks from now. I had told her I would think about it, and just that made her happy.

A knock on my door startled me from my thoughts.

"Come in," I said.

Rosalie cracked the door open and peered inside for entering my bedroom.

"What, no music this morning?" she asked jokingly.

"Nope. Just lots of thinking."

She became serious. "Are you going to call her today?"

"I just got off the phone with her, actually. I called her at one last night."

Rosalie looked skeptical, and when she held her hand out for my phone, it proved my suspicions correct. She scrolled through the call history and was satisfied when she found I had been on a long distance call for six hours.

"That's one loooong conversation," she said, dragging out the O.

"Yeah. It was nice."

"Did you talk about…" she hesitated. "_It_?" I knew what she was talking about.

"No, not at all. We just caught up on everything."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"Thanks, Rose," I said earnestly.

She feigned surprise.

"For what?"

"You know what."

She smiled wryly. "Yeah, I do."

I laughed. "Well, like I said, thanks."

She turned to leave but I stopped her. "Hey, what are you and Jazz doing for Thanksgiving break?" I asked.

She was suddenly guilty. "My family is actually going down to Texas to visit his, and we were going to join them. You could come too if you want," she offered. I waved her off.

"No, it's fine. I think I might actually go to Forks."

This time, Rosalie's surprise wasn't pretend. "Seriously?"

I just smiled.

"Have you been back since…" she trailed off suggestively.

"No. But it's been seven years, you know? I think it's time."

Rose sighed. "Make sure you think about this, okay? Remember, you'll have to see the house, the police station, the—"

"I know," I said, stopping her. "I thought about that. But I'm ready for it."

Rose shook her head. "Stop scaring me, Bella. I'm starting to regret asking you to phone her."

I rolled my eyes. "Rose, I'm _fine_. Quit worrying about me. I'm an adult and I can handle myself perfectly well."

"I know, Bella. I just don't want to see you like I did when I met you."

I sighed. "I know." I remembered that day well.

_Two years. Two years, and I still felt shitty as hell. I was never going to get over this. The pain would last forever. _

_Everywhere I turned, I saw their faces. Renee's on the lady at the supermarket. Charlie's on the college football coach. Edward's…everywhere. Absolutely everywhere I turned. _

_I looked out the open window of my apartment building and to the ground, thirty feet below me. This wasn't going to be as painless as I had hoped, but seeing as I didn't have a gun to shoot myself or water near by to drown in, this was the next best thing. I took one step out onto the ledge, and almost fell right there and then as a voiced spoke up and startled me. _

"_Are you Bella?"_

_I gasped and slipped and started to plummet to my death. Before I could get too far, however, two strong hands grasped my wrist._

"_What the hell are you doing?" the woman's voice screeched as she hauled me back up into the room. _

_I looked up at the insanely beautiful blond who didn't look as strong as she was, and burst into tears. Understanding lit up her face, and she pulled me into her arms. She let me cry for almost an hour, when my tears finally started to dry up._

"_I'll help you," she whispered. _

_It dawned on me right there and then that I might actually have a change at happiness. I had someone who could comfort me and be there for me during my grieving. With _him_ gone, I had had no one to help me through this. Maybe this woman could help me. _

"_I'm Rosalie Hale, by the way. Your new roommate."_

It was then that I had started referring to him as _he_. No name. It hurt too much to think or say his name.

Rosalie had helped me cope with my parents' deaths, and I did find happiness. I was a remarkably happy person now. No one would ever guess that I had gone through three physical and emotional losses all at once.

I was just like everyone else. Except that I liked to think of myself as a much more independent person than most. I suppose it was true. Even though Rose pretty much saved my life, I didn't allow myself to be dependent on her. The adult Bella Swan was dependent on no one.

***

EPOV

_I stood in front of the crowd, and they cheered me on, pleading for an encore. _

"_Edward, they love you!" Bella yelled from behind me. She looked like she always had, except a little older. Hair in a ponytail, hoodie, jeans, converse shoes. She was pretty, though. She always had been. _

"_They love you, too," I yelled back. She smiled and shook her head._

"_No, they don't. They're cheering for you. They all think I'm selfish and needy."_

_I frowned. "What are you talking about, Bella?"_

_She continued to smile. "Remember when I was told those were my two strongest qualities?" _

_I shook my head, still frowning. "No. Who told you that?"_

_She eyes me skeptically. _

"_You."_

"Eddie-boy!" someone screamed into my ear. I jolted upright, pulling myself from my nightmare and into my bedroom.

Emmett stood by my bed, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Holy shit, Emmett!" I yelled at him, completely shaken by the dream I just had.

He just continued to grin.

"What are you talking about, Bella?" he said, imitating me in a girly voice. I frowned at him.

"And that completes one whole week of dreaming about Bella," he said and pretended to draw a check mark on the air.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"What going on, Edward?" he asked. "I haven't heard you say a word about her all these years, and now, all of a sudden, you keep having dreams of her?"

"I don't know what's going on, Emmett," I said honestly. "I've never dreamt of Bella. It just started out of the blue."

"I bet you think of her all the time."

I grimaced. "Why would you think that?" I demanded.

"_Alice _and _I_ think about her all the time and we aren't even the ones who spent every minute of the day with her."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"Whatever," Emmett said, batting his eyelashes and waving his hand. "God, Edward, sometimes you're exactly like a gay moody teenager."

"I'm not acting gay," I protested.

Emmett stood and walked out of the door as he said, "Whatever."

I walked over to my stereo and pressed play. The song "Holiday" by "Green Day" blasted through the speakers. There blaring music was a good distraction from both the dream and Emmett. Normally Emmett would suffice as my distraction, but since he seemed to feed the festering thoughts I was having lately, he wouldn't work this time.

I spent ten minutes preparing myself for the day. I did nothing with my hair except run some frizz cream through it. Trying to make it stay flat was hopeless.

Just as I reached out to grab my phone and put it in my pocket, it began to vibrate. I flipped it open and simultaneously turned off my music.

"Yeah?" I said into the phone a little irritably. The dream was still on my mind.

"Am I calling at a bad time?" came my mother's soft voice from the other end.

"No, not at all. Sorry, Mom."

"It's fine, don't worry yourself, dear."

"How has your week been?"

"Lovely. I had a wonderful surprise."

"Which was?" I asked. My mother sounded delighted. Her voice was calm, but I could hear an undercurrent of excitement.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," she confessed softly.

"Oh really?" I asked dryly. "Is it about me?"

She chuckled. "No, dear. Someone is feeling a little self absorbed today, aren't they?"

"I just meant that if it wasn't about me, I should be allowed to know."

"I know, my sweet. Still, it does not change a thing." Before I could reply, she continued speaking. "Will you be coming down for thanksgiving?"

"What day is it?" I hadn't thought about it at all.

"The twenty-sixth. Alice and Emmett are both getting two weeks off."

"You already spoke to Emmett?" I asked.

"Yes. And before you ask, he does not know the surprise either." I smiled wryly. My mother knew her children well.

"I'll see, Mom, but I'm not sure I can come down until Christmas. I kind of need to work as much as possible to get all the money I can."

"Your father and I can pay you for all the time—"

"Thanks, but I don't need my parents to support me. I'm twenty-five, Mom."

"I know," she sighed. "Sometimes I just wish you'd find a better job."

"So I can sit behind a desk all day?" I asked sarcastically.

"How is driving a taxi any better?" she demanded. I pinched the bridge of my nose with my forefinger and thumb. This wasn't the first time we'd had this argument.

"Okay, forget it. I don't want to fight. But I really don't think I'll be able to make it."

"Alright then. You have to promise me you'll come for Christmas, though."

"I will."

"For more than a day."

I didn't answer. "Edward," she warned.

"Fine. I'll come for at least five days."

"Good," she said, finally satisfied.

I checked my watch. "I have to get going, Mom. I'll talk to you tonight though."

"Call me after dinner, please."

"I promise I will."

"Alright, dear. Until then."

"Bye, Mom."

"Goodbye, Edward."

I threw my cell phone down onto my bed and collapsed beside it. What a fucked up life I had. No drive for anything except music, which I found myself unable to pursue without Bella. It was obvious I'd die an old, lonely cabdriver of New York who still lived in this shithole apartment which I shared with my older brother.

Yeah, I was feeling really optimistic.

***

BPOV

It was four o'clock when my cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Bella!"

I smiled. "Esme, how are you?"

"Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful." I could hear that she was excited about something.

"What happened?"

"Alice is engaged!" she squealed.

She proceeded to launch into the story of Alice's boyfriend asking her and Carlisle for permission, and how excited Alice was.

"That's so amazing," I whispered. "Alice must be over the moon."

"Oh, she is," Esme assured me. "She's even more energetic than she usually is."

I laughed. "I can't even imagine that." Esme laughed with me.

I sighed. "I miss her. A lot."

"Have you thought about coming here for the holidays?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did. If it's still alright with you, I plan on coming."

Esme gasped in delight. "Really?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Oh, Bella, I'm so happy. I really am. You made my day. First Alice, now you…"

I started to feel uncomfortable. I had never gotten past the part of my apology last night that was the 'I'm sorry'. There was more I needed to say.

"Esme…I…"

She waited for me to continue.

"I'm so sorry. What I did…you don't know the half of it, but it was still entirely my fault, and—"

"Shh," she whispered in a soothing voice. I shut up immediately. "This is not a proper conversation to be held over the phone. When you come, you'll tell me."

I nodded, even though she couldn't see. "Sounds good to me."

"Perfect."

I decided to change the subject. "Would you like me to bring anything?"

"No, no, we're fine. Oh, and just so you know, he won't be with us for the holidays." I knew who she meant, and I was surprised I hadn't even thought of the fact that he would most likely be there too. It was his family, after all. Thank goodness he actually wouldn't be there. I don't think I'd be able to survive that.

I suddenly remembered something else. "Do you still have karaoke at Thanksgiving?"

She laughed. "We've neglected that tradition for a few years now."

I felt disappointed and relieved at the same time.

"We should do it this year, though," she said. "I miss it."

"That would be fun."

"Would you like to participate in it?"

"Yes," I said without thinking, completely shocking myself. I had planned on saying no, but the opposite somehow found its way out of my mouth.

_What's wrong with you? _asked Independent Bella.

_Oh, come on. We haven't sung since high school,_ Reckless Bella argued.

_Do you _want_ to start depending on music again?_

_Of course not. This is just for fun, though._

_Oh really? You sure about that?_

_Shut up._

Still, Reckless Bella ignored Independent Bella.

"Great!" Esme exclaimed.

"We could do it out in the gazebo, if it's not too cold," I suggested.

_Okay, time for _you_ to shut up! _Independent Bella hissed.

"Oh, that would be beautiful! We could have lights, and the keyboard and drums and guitar out, too. We could have live performances!"

Even Reckless Bella wasn't too keen on that idea.

"You mean make up our own songs?" I asked.

"Yes, exactly!"

"I don't know…"

Reckless Bella tried to convince herself, while Independent Bella screamed at her.

"I know you've written at least one song since I last saw you," she said knowingly.

"I have, actually. It was almost four years ago, but yes, I have."

"Then sing it for us!" she pleaded. "I've missed your voice. I've missed hearing you and Edw—"

"I'll sing," I said quickly. Five years and not once had his name entered my head. I wasn't about to break that streak now.

Esme immediately noticed what she had done. However, she didn't say anything. She always knew what to do.

"Wonderful, Bella. Wonderful. I can't wait."

"Me neither." I glanced at the clock. "I better start on supper. My turn to cook."

She laughed. "Mine too." I laughed with her. It was _always_ Esme's turn to cook.

"I'll talk to you soon, then."

"I'll be expecting it."

"I sure hope so."

"Good evening, my Bellflower." I almost started crying. I had forgotten her nickname for me. It also hurt quite a bit. He had called me that, too.

"Good evening, Esme." She hung up, as did I.

Reckless Bella cheered while Independent Bella began to worry and plan how to detach her emotions from the song I would sing at Thanksgiving.


	3. Chapter 3 Here

**The last time Bella spoke to Edward was when she left their band, seven years ago. What will happen when they meet again, and old feelings rise to the surface? Rated M for future chapters. BxE, AxJ, AU, AH**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Too bad. **

APOV

Esme came skipping into my bedroom. Her eyes were wide with excitement and her hands shook slightly. When she started to jump up and down on the spot, I knew something huge had just happened. Not many people believed it, but I had inherited my energetic nature from my mother.

"What happened?" I demanded, standing up and skipping toward her.

"Bella called," she squealed.

I gasped and began to scream. Esme grasped my hands and we jumped and screamed and laughed together. Carlisle poked his head into the room and shook it. However, he too wore a huge smile on his face, so I assumed he knew what had conspired as well.

"Why didn't you let me talk to her?" I whined. Esme laughed again.

"You know very well that your wrath would have been too much too soon," she giggled.

I put my hands on my hips and huffed. "What wrath? Do you think I'm angry she hasn't called me once in the past seven years?" I asked sarcastically.

Esme raised an eyebrow. "Alice, don't. We have no idea what happened with her and Edward. We don't have any right to judge."

I sighed and sat down, resting my chin in my hand.

"I told her you were getting married," Esme said.

I perked right up. "Really? What did she say? Will she be here for it? Will she be a bridesmaid? Will she come dress shopping with me? Will she—"

"She's very excited for you, Alice. I don't know if she'll come. You'll have to invite her if she comes for thanksgiving."

I gasped. "She's coming for thanksgiving?"

"She _might_ come. It depends—"

Suddenly colors swirled in front of my eyes and I was no longer in my childhood bedroom with Esme. I was now in the dark hallway of the top floor of the house. Bella stood at the end of the hallway with Edward. She looked angry and he looked embarrassed. Then Edward leaned forward and brushed her hair from her face. Bella's angry look instantly melted, and she looked afraid.

Colors swirled again and I was back in my bedroom. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.

"Alice? Alice?" Esme said frantically. "You had a vision, didn't you?"

I took a deep breath before letting it out. "I did. I thought I had lost my gift." Since I was born, I had been having visions almost every day. But after the accident, they came less and less often, and the last time I had a vision was when I was nineteen. Now I was twenty-five. For the past six years I had wished I could choose when I wanted to see something. A smile crept onto my lips.

"I had a vision!" I cheered. "I had a vision! About time, too!"

Esme sat on the bed beside me. "What did you see?"

"Bella and Edward. They were talking in the top floor's hallway. It was dark, so it must have been night."

Esme smiled. "Bella and Edward? Together?"

I nodded. "I can't believe I had a freaking vision."

Esme patted my cheek and laughed. "This is wonderful, Alice. I think things are going to start looking up."

I nodded my head vigorously. "I know they are."

"Sorry to kill the mood, Sweetie, but are you planning on telling your twin brother of your engagement?"

I frowned and glared at my mother. "What makes you think he'd even want to come?"

Esme's face became pained, and I felt bad. I knew it killed her that two of her children refused to speak to each other.

"Of course he'd want to come."

"I don't need a huge fight at my wedding, Mom. I don't want him to loose it again and throw a chair into the cake or something."

"I know that, honey. But he's lost right now. He has no one but Emmett who I'm sure is hardly helpful, and he has a huge he absolutely hates. He tells me otherwise, but I just know he hates it."

"What am I supposed to do about that? It's his fault he can't move his lazy ass to find a better job."

"Sometimes I think he never recovered from Bella," Esme whispered.

"That's his own damn fault too," I muttered.

"Alice," Esme warned.

"Well it is, Mom! It's his fault she left us. It's his fault she hasn't spoken to us until now!"

Esme shook her head sadly and let a tear slip from her eye. I felt guilty instantly.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I apologized as I patted her back soothingly.

"Its fine, Alice. I just want my family together again. Including Bella. She's always been a part of our family."

I kissed my mothers cheek. "I really do think things will get better."

She hugged me tightly. "We have to believe that, don't we?"

EPOV

**(2 weeks later)**

"I'm flying out tonight, Eddie."

Emmett and I were sitting on the couch, watching television. I had asked him if he wanted to go out for a while, maybe get something to drink, and he surprised me by telling me he was going on a plane somewhere.

"Where the hell are you flying out to?" I asked.

He eyed me. "Um…Forks? Thanksgiving break?"

My eyes widened. "Right. I forgot all about that."

Emmett sighed and crossed his arms. "You need to get your head out of your ass, Edward." I had never seen Emmett wear a more serious look on his face before.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, quick to be defensive.

"You're useless. Right now the only thing you're doing is stealing air from people who are actually trying to live. Stop using Bella as an excuse and get a decent job that might enable you to pay at least a quarter of the rent."

"How the hell am I supposed to be happy doing anything other than music?" I asked.

"If all you want to do is make music, go do it! Its time for you to grow the hell up!"

"I can't go do it," I muttered pathetically.

"Why in the hell not?" Emmett seethed.

"Because Bella fucking Swan won't do it with me!" I was starting to sound crazy, it was true.

"What, have you found her? Did you go to her house and ask her recently? Why am I not surprised she said no?" Emmett laughed without humor.

"She said she'd never do it with me in grade twelve, Emmett," I said slowly.

"Before or after her parents died and you said god knows what to her?"

"Before. It came out of no where, Emmett."

Emmett shook his head angrily. "Edward, I'm tired of this bullshit. Go find her, or move on with your life. You've hurt so many people within the last few years, and its time to think about someone other than you."

He stood up and walked toward the door. He opened it and stepped over the threshold but paused before closing it behind him.

"By the way, Alice got engaged about two weeks ago." With that last comment, he slammed the door shut. I sat on the couch, completely frozen for a couple minutes. When I thawed, I felt like my head would explode. Alice was engaged? I didn't even know she was dating someone. No one had told me any of this. Emmett had said that I had hurt a lot of people.

Had I hurt Esme?

Yes, I had. With my disconnection to the family.

Carlisle?

He expected me to exceed and to fight for what I wanted. He expected me to be compassionate. I hadn't been doing either of those things.

Emmett?

It was obvious I had hurt him by taking his money for a place to live without any gratitude.

Alice?

Yeah, I had hurt Alice. By hurting Bella and myself. This was the reason we never spoke, and the reason I wasn't invited to this wedding of hers.

And I had definitely hurt Bella. Sometimes I worried whether she was still alive. Whether she was happy.

I had to change my attitude now.

I leapt up from the couch and made my way to Emmett's laptop. And I bought a ticket to Washington. I would leave tomorrow morning.

BPOV

My bags were packed and I was ready to go. I was incredibly nervous, but excited. Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Alice. Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Alice.

Now that I was finally allowing myself to think about the Cullens and my past, I realized how much I had actually missed them. I continued to mentally kick myself for not keeping contact with them all these years.

Rosalie dropped me off at security. "Remember, Bella," she said. "Jazz and I will have our phones on at all times. Call is if you need anything. If you want to come home, we'll buy you a ticket to Texas."

I smiled and laughed lightly. "Thanks Rose. But I think I'll be fine."

"You sure that dick won't be there?"

"He's not a dick, Rose."

She rolled her eyes. "Keep telling yourself that, Bella. If you prefer, I can use the word jerk."

I sighed but smiled. "The jerk won't be there."

"I'll talk to you soon, Bella," Rosalie laughed as I walked through security. I waved one last time before she turned to leave.

The flight left right on time and landed early. Alice was supposed to pick me up and drive back to Forks. Instead of feeling nervous, I was beginning to feel really excited. I loved Alice like a sister.

I made my way to the baggage claim and looked for a petit woman. When I couldn't spot her anywhere, I began to worry.

"Oh my god. Bella, is that _you_?" a high bell-like voice asked. I turned around and met the green eyes of Alice. She looked the same except for the length of her hair. It had always been long, but it was now cut into short and spiky pieces. It suited her perfectly. I grinned hugely.

"Alice?"

She squealed and jumped up, wrapping me in a tight hug. I hugged her back.

"Holy shit, Bella! You're hot!"

I laughed loudly. Hot was a huge overstatement. Normal was probably a better word.

"You're looking pretty hot as well, Alice," I giggled. She let go of me and gave me an pretend angry look.

"Just _pretty_ hot? Bella, I look like hotness incarnate." I laughed and she joined in.

My luggage was the first bag on the carousal and Alice and I skipped to a black Mercedes that I remembered had belonged to Carlisle.

"So, you're getting married, huh?" I asked. Alice nodded.

"Yup, I sure am."

"Who's the lucky guy?"

She smiled. "His name is Brandon. You'll come to the wedding, right?" she asked.

"Of course. When is it?"

"July. It's going to be amazing."

"I bet it will."

Alice and I were in the car now, driving toward Forks. She turned on the stereo and taped her hand against the steering wheel.

"How about you? Any special guys?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"How come?" she asked. "There's no way you can't pick anyone up."

I laughed. "I just haven't met anyone I really like. Still looking."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know what that's like. Sometimes you have to settle for the next best thing, though, Bella."

She sounded a little sad, and I wondered if what she said had any connection to her.

"What's your job like?" she asked.

"I'm a journalist for the Toronto paper."

She whistled. "That's a pretty cool job. Do you like it?"

I shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. I like it."

She frowned but didn't press me on it.

"And let me guess," I said. You have your own store filled with your own designs."

She laughed. "Good guess. I do."

"Are you going to take me to it sometime?"

"Definitely. You'll love shopping at my store."

"Somehow I doubt that," I giggled.

She eyed my clothing. "With that sexy skirt and shirt, I would have thought you liked shopping now."

I shook my head. "Nope. Still hate it. My best friend Rosalie picked it out."

"Best friend?" Alice asked in a tight voice.

Shit.

I should have known she'd be upset. It was entirely my fault I was no longer close friends with Alice.

"I'm sorry, Alice."

"I don't want to be a bitch, Bella, but you should be. I missed you a lot. We could have been best friends now."

"I know," I sighed. "I would have stayed but it just became too much."

"What did?" she asked.

I stared at her for a long time. "I don't want to tell you right now, but I promise I'll tell you later, alright?"

She smiled. "Agreed."

The rest of the ride passed quickly. Conversation flowed easily and I found myself friends with Alice in no time at all. A song by Hellogoodbye came on the radio and Alice squealed.

"I haven't heard this forever!" she exclaimed. "We used to sing it all the time!"

I laughed. This song was practically our trademark. Alice and Bella's song. We always sang it together. I'm not even sure when we started.

"Cause our lips can touch," Alice sang.

"Our cheeks can brush," I joined in.

"Our lips can touch."

"Here!" we both sang. We giggled as the chorus played.

She turned the Mercedes into the driveway. I felt tears form as I took in the grand house. I missed it's warm atmosphere.

Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett came running from the house. I jumped from the car into Esme's arms.

"Oh, Esme," I whispered. She hugged me tightly before passing me onto Carlisle.

"Good to have you back," he whispered. I smiled up at him.

Emmett grabbed me from Carlisle and crushed me in his arms. "You're hot, Bella!" he yelled. I would have laughed had I had enough air in my lungs to breath.

"Emmett—need—air," I choked out. He put me back on the ground and laughed heartily.

I looked into all of their happy, smiling faces and let tears fall from my eyes.

"I missed you all so much."

* * *

**So, looks like Edward and Alice don't have a very good relationship anymore, doesn't it? And Edward's going to surprise his family by coming down for thanksgiving. That might cause some drama, huh? **

**There will be lots more Edward in the next chapter, don't you worry. We'll also get to meet Alice's fiancé Brandon. **

**Anyone who reviews will get the first 500 words of the next chapter! **

**I also have a schedule on my profile page for the days when I will update. Check it out if you have time! **

**-Maiya**


	4. Chapter 4 Breathe 2 AM

**Song: "Breathe (2 AM)" by "Anna Nalick"**

**Disclaimer: Twilight doesn't belong to me. If it did I'd be too busy to write fan fiction. **

"So…" Emmett began. "You've gone Canadian?"

We were all sitting in the family room around the coffee table. For the first time in so many years, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I was positively glowing with happiness. Nothing could ruin my mood.

"Yes, Emmett," I answered. "I'm actually a Canadian citizen."

"Why is that?" he wondered.

I shrugged. "Better health care, less people, cleaner…I just like it better."

"But aren't you drowning in taxes or something?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. You'd be surprised that a lot of what we grew up learning about Canada is actually not really true."

Emmett scoffed. "Yeah right."

"Seriously, Emmett. I've never seen a moose there, and no one ever says 'eh'. Well, except for the people from the Middle East who say it because they think it is required. Can you name any of the provinces?" I asked.

"Provinces?" he asked.

I shook my head. "See? Exactly my point. Did you know Canadians can name all the states in America and most Americans can name hardly any of the provinces?"

"I guess they're all American wannabe's," he said with a shrug. I smiled and shook my head. Emmett was exactly like I had remembered him.

"Do you have anyone special?" Esme asked quietly. I looked into her eyes, and I could see pity. I got one of those gut feelings that told me Esme knew more about Edward and I than I had thought, but I pushed it aside for the moment.

"No, not really. I'm just focusing on work and friends right now. Plus, I haven't really met anyone lately who I've been interested in."

Esme nodded and gave me a small smile.

Emmett whistled. "That kind of makes you a loser, Bella," Emmett teased. Esme smacked him lightly, but I smiled.

"Do you have anyone special Emmett?" I asked.

"Nope!" he said, popping the P. "But that doesn't mean I haven't gotten any for a long time either."

"Emmett!" Esme hissed. She shook her head. "Sometimes I worry I didn't drill the importance of treating woman right into your head enough when you were younger."

"Its okay, Esme," I said before looking back at Emmett. "And did I ever say I wasn't getting any?" I asked him with a wink.

Emmett's eyes lit up. "Alright, Bella!" he cheered. I laughed and everyone joined in. It was good to be home.

"Hey, do you want to see pictures of my roommates?" I asked.

"Sure," Carlisle said. I pulled out a picture of Rose, Jazz and I at a Christmas craft fair last year. The Cullens crowded around me.

"That's Rosalie and Jasper Hale. They're cousins."

"Holy shit!" Emmett yelled. "She's hot!"

"No," Alice argued. "_He's_ hot!"

I laughed.

We talked all night until eleven o'clock, at which point Esme led me to the room I would be staying in. I made a small noise of shock when I realized that it was Edward's old room.

"I hope you don't mind staying in here," Esme said quietly.

"Of course I won't," I lied poorly. "What would make you think that?"

Esme sighed and gave me a look of pity and compassion. "I know what happened to you two," she said sadly. "I know you loved him."

I gasped before I could help myself.

"H—how?" I managed to stutter out.

Esme smiled slightly. "Oh sweetie, I could see it on your face every time you looked at him."

"Hm," I muttered, unhappy that my feelings had been so apparent. "Edward never saw, did he?"

She shook her head sadly. "No, he never did. I always wished he had though."

I started. "Um…why?"

She sighed. "You two would have been perfect together. Alice thought so too."

"Did Alice see something?" I asked.

Esme hesitated before answering. "No."

"Did she see my parents?"

Esme hesitated once again. "I think Alice should be answering your questions, my Bellflower."

I nodded. "Alright."

She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. I felt a tear slip down my cheek.

"Shhh, Bella. Don't cry," Esme soothed me as she smoothed my hair.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm never like this anymore. I'm strong and independent. Coming here…seeing you all…it makes me feel like I'm a teenager again."

"From the moment I spoke to you on the phone, I knew you had changed, Bellflower," Esme said softly. "I want you to know how proud I am and how much respect I hold for you. It couldn't have been easy healing on your own. I can see how much of a different person it made you."

I smiled a little. "It wasn't easy Esme. I don't think I would have ever been able to recover on my own. But I had Rosalie and Jasper, who are both my best friends."

"Well then, I'm very happy you made friends like them. I hope to meet them sometime."

I laughed. "I'm sure you will. If one thing goes wrong, Rose will be on the next plane to Forks."

Esme laughed with me before placing one more kiss on my cheek and turning to descend the stairway.

With a sigh, I plopped down on Edward's old bed. I wondered where he lived now and what he was doing. I wondered if he was married or had a girlfriend. It was hard to believe there was a possibility he could be single.

I changed into my night wear quickly and crawled beneath the comforter. After imagining sleeping in Edward's bed countless times throughout my life, I was finally doing it. Of course, being as I was in love with him for most of my adolescent years, I had always pictured being here with him.

A thousand memories passed through my mind. My first memory of his room was around the age of five. He had just gotten a little keyboard for Christmas and we were playing with it in his bedroom. He didn't want to share with me and he hid it behind his back whenever I came near him. I was smart even as a little girl and wouldn't take any of his bullshit. I stood up and pushed him angrily. The keyboard fell out of his hands and he fell on his butt.

Even then we had been so close that Edward hadn't cried or yelled or pushed me back. He had simply sat down beside me and listened to me play.

Over the years, his room and the activities we did in there changed. His wall color went from baby blue to red and the building blocks were replaced by guitars and pianos and microphones and drums. We went from playing hide and seek to listening to our iPods and writing songs.

I felt a sharp pang in my chest and grimaced. God, I missed writing songs with Edward. Lets be honest; it was all I did for ten years of my life.

I looked at the bedside clock. It was two AM. There was no way I would be falling asleep anytime soon. I thanked God I was on the top floor and wouldn't disturb anyone if I had a shower.

I crawled out of bed and started the shower in Edward's bathroom. As I stepped in and felt the hot water cascade down my back, I tried not to think that Edward had been in here, naked.

I wasn't saying I still loved him. But hey, Edward had been hot. It was normal for me to have fantasized.

I recalled a song I had written about four years ago. I think I must have remembered it because I had felt so relaxed and at peace. I was home, I was happy, I was still alive.

I began to sing in Edward's shower.

"Two AM and she calls me cause I'm still awake, 'can you help me unravel my latest mistake? I don't love him, winter just wasn't my season'. Yeah, we walk through the doors so accusing their eyes, like they have any right at all to criticize! Hypocrites, you're all here for the very same reason.

"Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable, and life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button girl, so cradle your head in your hands. And breathe…just breathe. Oh breathe…just breathe."

Something in the back of my mind told me that someone was listening to me sing, but I ignored the gut feeling for the second time tonight and continued to sing.

"May he turned 21 on the base of Fort Bliss. 'Just a day,' he said down to the flask in his fist. 'Ain't been sober since maybe October of last year.' Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while, but my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles. Wanna hold him, but maybe I'll just sing about it. Cause you can't jump a track, we're like cars on a cable. And life's like and hourglass glued to the table. No one can find a rewind button, boys. So cradle your head in your hands. And breathe…just breathe…oh breathe…just breathe. There's a light at the end of this tu—"

Suddenly there was the sound of a throat being cleared. I stopped singing abruptly and the silence that filled the room was eerie. The horror movie image of a man holding a knife outside the shower curtain caused my breath to shorten drastically. But what waited for me on the other side of the curtain was scarier than anything I could have ever imagined.

I gripped the fabric against my body and pulled it back carefully. When my eyes met a pair of startled—but intense—emerald eyes, I screamed. He yelled out in surprise and gasped when he recognized me. For a few long seconds I stared at him, drinking in his appearance. He had been scorching hot in high school—now he was practically a sex god. His hair was the same disarray it had always been except that all the wisps were a little more defined. He also had a lot more muscles than I remembered. Even with a shirt on, I could tell Edward had a well-defined six pack.

Wait…when had I started to think of him as 'Edward', opposed to 'him'?

"Bella?" he asked, bewildered.

The sensible part of my mind finally caught up with the rest of me.

"What in the fucking hell are you doing here? Get out! I'm in the motherfucking shower for fuck's sake!" I screeched. That was probably the most I'd ever said the word fuck in five seconds.

Edward stood there for a few seconds longer. His eyes roamed my face before observing the soaked shower curtain that clung suggestively to my body.

I screamed again in frustration. "Get out, Edward!"

As Edward hurried to shut the bathroom door behind him I collapsed to the floor of the tub. I took some calming deep breaths and tried not to freak out. I wasn't prepared for this. At all. I wondered if this had been planned by the Cullens. Edward seemed pretty damn shocked to find me here too. But no, that couldn't be possible. Why would they put me in Edward's room, then? I guess I'd find out in the morning.

What I needed to think about right now was what I was going to do. It was very possible Edward was just outside the bathroom door. I would need to talk to him. What was my approach going to be? Would I be angry or neutral?

Neutral would probably be best.

I stood up slowly and then shut of the water as I stepped out of the shower. I quickly dried myself off and then slipped on my nightgown. At that moment, I hated myself for leaving my jeans in the bedroom instead of the bathroom, and I hated Rose for even packing this stupid and fancy piece of nightwear when I wanted to bring my sweatpants.

I took a deep breath before pulling open the door.

Edward sat on the bed with his head in his hands. I cleared my throat quietly and he shot up from the bed and gazed at me. I looked anywhere but his eyes. We stood like this for a few awkward minutes. I knew eventually one of us would need to speak, so finally I did.

"If you'll excuse me, I would like to go to bed," I said quietly, but with authority.

"Bella, I need to apologize for what happened last time I saw you. I'm terribly sor—"

I had a feeling his apology was going to come up. I also knew I couldn't handle it tonight. I cut him off quickly.

"This is your bedroom. I'll go sleep with Alice." I turned on my heels and fled from the room. He followed me and ran down the hall until he could grab my wrist. That stupid, familiar electric current shot up my arm and it pissed me off. I yanked my am away from him.

"Don't touch me," I whispered.

He took a step back but spoke again. "I'm sorry for—"

"Jesus, Edward!" I snapped. So much for my neutral approach. It would have to commence tomorrow.

He looked bewildered, so I continued.

"Don't you dare dump this shit on me at two-fucking-thirty in the morning! I don't have a clue why you're here; your family assured me you wouldn't be. I'm so pissed that you think you can apologize for what you've done, just like that! You can't. I can only take so much at a time, so fucking leave me alone at least until the sun comes up."

His shocked expression slowly disappeared and he gazed into my eyes. His deep stare caught me off guard and I became locked in it. Slowly, he leaned forward and brushed a piece of hair from my face.

The moment his skin came in contact with my cheek, I had the most startling feeling I had ever felt. I felt like I had found the place I was supposed to be for the rest of my life. I was completely relaxed and had not a worry in my mind. Everything was perfect and right and how it should be. I had thought I was home before when I talked to the Cullens, but this was a different kind of 'home'. It was like my soul had found its missing piece.

I didn't know if I was missing my best friend or if I was starting to feel attracted to him again. Either way, I knew my feelings for him were already rising to the surface. And that scared the shit out of me.

I took a few staggering steps away from him until my back was pressed against the wall. I stared at him for a couple more seconds before running down the stairs toward Alice's bedroom. I flew open the door and slammed it shut behind me.

"Bella?" Alice asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. I couldn't answer.

"Bella, what happened?"

With a shaking voice, I answered her. "Edward."

**I'm planning on naming chapters after songs starting with this one. Just look them up on YouTube—they'll be sung somewhere in the chapter. It's fun to read with music. **

**Also, I was wondering if anyone is a beta reader or knows someone who is one. I am in desperate need of someone to help me with editing. I can edit other people's stories really well, but when it comes to my own writing, I make millions of mistakes and then overlook them. **

**Thanks so much for reading! **

**(Reviews get the next 500 words)**

**-Maiya**


	5. Chapter 5 With Me

**Sorry about the wait. I meant to have this published along with the other three or four chapters I promised to post this past week, but I ended up going on vacation early. I'm putting them up now though. I hope everyone had a great Christmas! **

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to SM**

* * *

EPOV

It was three AM and my eyes were still wide open. I didn't think they would be closing anytime tonight. Honestly, I was afraid that if I fell asleep, I would be back in New York when I woke up.

She was here.

Isabella-freaking-Swan was here, at my parent's house, in Forks. She had been in my bed, in my room. I could smell her scent on the sheets.

She had been in my shower.

A shiver ran through my body. The Bella I had seen in my shower was no longer a teenager. She was a woman. An absolutely breathtaking woman.

I had always secretly thought Bella was beautiful in high school. She didn't think so, but every male in the school would have agreed with me. She had been beautiful in a warm, natural way, unlike all the other girls who had bleached blond hair and raccoon eyes. Bella never wore any makeup or did anything with her hair other than pull it up into a ponytail, but it didn't matter. She hadn't needed it anyway.

And now I had seen her again, this time with soaked hair and no makeup, and it was obvious to me that she was probably ten times more beautiful than she had been in high school. I had never seen another woman who could look that beautiful naturally.

Her skin was as pale as it had been before but it was now smoother and creamier.  
Her dark wet hair had looked beautiful against her skin. Her lips were a little fuller and redder, but her eyes were exactly the same. Wide, chocolate brown eyes that reminded me of hot chocolate, framed with thick dark lashes. I couldn't help my eyes from surveying the rest of her body.

And I felt like such an idiot when the first thing I did was after seven years was ogling her.

She had screamed at me and told me to get out. I had quickly complied and sat on my bed while I waited for. The moment she spoke, I knew she had changed drastically. Her voice had transformed from sweet and innocent to firm and experienced. It made me feel like I was younger than her.

I knew why she was so different. She hadn't had anyone to help her deal with the pain of her parents. She really was more mature than me. She was more experienced and older than her years. I had done that to her.

Before I could help myself, my apology fell from my lips. She acted as if she didn't know what I was about to say and hurried from the room, using Alice as an excuse. I followed her like the oblivious jerk I was and tried to apologize again.

Bella had always been my little kitten. Sure, she had been angry many times, but it was more humorous than scary. But when she ripped her arm from my hand, she instantly transformed into a ferocious tiger. I had been honestly and truly afraid of her at that moment. She screamed and swore at me, and then my arms had subconsciously reached out to brush a piece of hair from her face. Her face changed again and she looked frightened. She met my eyes once more before she was gone.

I closed my eyes and envisioned the scenario I had imagined countless times throughout the past years.

_I knocked on her door a couple times and she opened it up a couple of seconds later. She looked exactly the same as she always had. She gasped before smiling. _

"_Edward?" she asked through her tears._

_I leaned against the door frame and grinned back. "Yeah."_

_She squealed and threw herself into my arms. I hugged her back. _

"_I missed you," she said. _

"_Me too," I admitted. _

Shit, my ego was huge. It shouldn't be. I'm a taxi driver. I have hardly any money. I broke my best friend when she was already delicate and about to fall apart.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I sighed and ran my hands down my face. After what just happened, my ego was melting away. She hated me. In a way, I was glad. She had every right and she should make this as hard as possible for me.

But it still hurt. A lot.

BPOV

_Police cars surrounded my house. I ran up to the nearest officer and tugged on his sleeve. He turned around quickly and gasped a little when he realized who I was._

"_Isabella Swan?" _

_I nodded. "What happened? Where are my mom and dad?" _

_He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them and looking into my eyes. _

"_There was an accident up by the gas station. Someone tried to shoot your father—" _

_I gasped but he continued. _

"—_and he drove away as fast as he could. Unfortunately another car was speeding and hit the vehicle head on. Your mother and father rolled into the ditch."_

_Tears pooled in my eyes and ran down my face. _

"_Will they be okay?" I whispered. _

_He met my eyes steadily and shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry. They were killed upon impact."_

_What he said didn't really sink in. When it did, I had trouble breathing. I began to gasp for air. I was sure my throat was closing up. I clutched my stomach and leaned forward. _

_The officer put his hand on my shoulder. _

"_Can I take you somewhere? To your grandmother's?"_

_The only thing I could think was that I needed release. Comfort. Something to ease the pain that was slowing creeping into my conscious mind. One word came to mind. _

_Edward. _

_With that thought I had taken off running down the street to the mansion beside the stream. The police called after me but I ignored him. I threw open the door to the Cullen's house and looked around. No one was in sight. _

"_Edward!" I cried. _

_I ran up the stairs toward his bedroom, screaming his name the entire time. I pushed open his door and saw him sitting on the bed._

"_Edward," I sobbed. _

_He turned to look at me coldly. I hesitated briefly before brushing it off. _

"_Mom and Dad…" I whispered through tears. "They're dead."_

_I swear I saw pain in his eyes for a second. Then his face became distant again. _

"_And you came to me?"_

_I frowned. I didn't want guessing games. I wanted him to hug me and tell me he would be here for me. _

"_Yes."_

"_Or did you come to my family? They like you more anyway."_

"_Edward, what—?"_

"_Don't Bella. Just—just get out of here. I'm tired of your shit. I'm tired of feeding your need of attention with sympathy."_

_I choked on a sob. "Did you hear what I said? Do you understand? Charlie and Renee are dead!" _

_He glared. "I have eyes. I can see the police outside my window."_

"_What did I do?" I whispered as I lost the little color I had left. _

_He sighed and looked at the floor. His lips twisted into a scowl. _

"_I don't want to be friends. You aren't the type of person I even really want to talk to."_

_With that last blow I ran from the house, clutching my hand to my mouth to stifle the sobs. _

_The rest of the Cullens entered the house as I ran across the hallway. Esme opened her arms up to hug me. Her face was contorted with sadness and sympathy. I pushed past her and fled from the house. The last thing I heard was lots of screaming coming from the mansion on the end of the street. I drove out of Forks and didn't stop for two weeks._

I shot up out of bed, panting. Sweat covered my body, making my nightgown cling to my body and my hair stick to my face. I held my hands against my heart, willing it to slow down.

A couple minutes later I closed my eyes and ran my hands down my face. I hadn't had that dream for over five years. I couldn't help but think it was my subconscious mind telling me to stay away from Edward. I wouldn't risk my happiness to be friends with Edward again.

But, god, he was so beautiful. Was God trying to kill me? Was He trying to take away my happiness?

A better question was probably whether or not the devil was trying to get another soul into hell.

Last night after settling into Alice's bedroom, I sent Rose a text telling her that Edward was here. She hadn't replied yet, which worried me. I prayed to God she wasn't going to do anything rash.

I climbed out of bed and made my way to the shower. It was already eleven o'clock. I washed away the perspiration and blow dried my hair into soft, natural waves. Then I put on a simple blue sweater and a pair of black jeans. I also applied make-up.

Finally I took a deep breath and walked down stairs toward the voices in the kitchen.

"You're going to drive Bella away," I heard Alice hiss.

"What am I supposed to do? Fly back to New York?" Edward's silky voice asked.

"Yes! That is _exactly_ what you're supposed to do!"

Shit. I was not going to be the one to drive a wedge between this family. I put on a brave face and pushed open the French doors.

"Good morning!" I chirped, smiling at them all. They gapped at me for a few seconds before Esme returned the wish. I turned toward the counter and picked up a blueberry orange muffin.

"May I have one of these?" I asked Esme.

"Certainly, Sweetie."

I took a bite and chewed slowly before swallowing.

"Delicious! Wonderful job on these, Esme. Can I have the recipe?"

She looked toward the floor and Alice answered for me.

"Actually, Edward made them," she said quietly. Everyone held their breath, waiting for my reaction. It was then that I had remembered Edward and I eating these same muffins the afternoon before prom. I had decided that day to tell him I loved him. Of course that had never happened, after seeing him sucking face with some blond slut.

However, I pretended I didn't really give a shit. I had gotten close to perfect at lying lately. I met Edward's eyes.

"Well, can I?" I asked casually.

He didn't answer. He seemed incredibly ashamed and refused to meet my eyes. Well he should be ashamed. I had no intention of forgiving him anytime soon.

Over the last seven years, I had developed a habit of taking advantage of people when I had more self-esteem than them. Of course I never took advantage of someone who was kind. The last time I had done this was when Mike accused me of cheating on him. In reality I had only gone out for lunch with a guy I worked with to discuss some business ideas I had. When Mike found that out, he felt guilty, and I took that as an opportune moment to get a little payback. Horrible, I know. But very useful in a situation like this.

I took a couple slow, seductive steps toward Edward. This had worked on a countless number of men before but I wasn't sure what Edward's reaction would be like. He met my eyes quickly before looking away with flaming cheeks. I stopped when I was a foot away and put a hand on his shoulder.

"May I please have the recipe, Edward?" I asked sweetly in a deep, rich voice.

His eyes widened and met mine. I smiled and began to lean forward so my lips were inches from his own. I could feel his breath speed up and wondered why he hadn't pulled away. This wasn't the smooth, suave Edward I used to know. Hiss lips moved forward slightly to meet mine, and I knew it was time to drop the act.

I abruptly reached behind him and grabbed a card of paper labeled _Orange Blueberry Delight_. As soon as it was in my hand, I took a big step back and fixed an expression of nonchalance on my face. I pretended to scan the paper quickly before looking up at him with a blank face.

"Hmm, looks easy enough. I'll copy it out and then give it back to you," I said.

I grabbed my muffin off the counter and ignored Carlisle, Alice, Esme, and Emmett's shocked expressions.

Then I took another big bite of the muffin. I smiled at Edward, who was still staring at me with wide eyes and red stained cheeks, and winked at Alice who was wearing a full blown grin now. I chewed and nodded my head while giving Edward a thumps up. Lastly, I turned on my heels and walked out of the room.

"Tell me when you want to show me your store, Alice!" I called back before taking another huge bite of muffin.

*

*

*

I avoided looking at the house down the street, where it sat, full of childhood memories, untouched since the day my parents died. I wasn't quite ready to look at it yet.

Alice and I giggled as we drove to her store in Seattle.

"I can't believe how flustered you had Edward!" she squealed. "His face was priceless! His eyes were enormous! He was, like, totally entranced! Oh my god, Bella! I _so_ wish I could make him do that!"

We both laughed so hard that tears began to stream down our faces.

"I mean, how the hell did you manage to look so smooth?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

I shrugged. "I don't really know for sure. But I've gotten good at lying."

"You couldn't even tell little white lies when we were kids!" she laughed.

"Well, Rosalie set me up with this guy a few years ago. He was cute, I guess.. She made me go out with him. I had to get pretty good at lying to him about my feelings."

She raised an eyebrow. "When did it end?"

"About six months ago, when he asked me to marry him."

She gasped. "Wow, seriously?"

"Yup. There was no way I was going to say yes."

"So you didn't like him at all?"

Again, I shrugged. "I liked him. I mean, I really liked him, but I never got close to loving him. I don't really think I'll ever end up marrying."

She bit her lip. "How come?"

I looked down at my lap. "My expectations are pretty high, that's all."

She looked at my through the corner of her eye. "Is this an opportune moment to talk about what happened that day?" We both knew she was talking about the day my parents died.

"Sure," I sighed. Then I thought of something. "But only if you promise to answer questions I have for you honestly."

She hesitated momentarily before saying, "So as long as you answer mine truthfully."

I nodded and organized where to start. "I was…kind of frustrated that day and I wrote a whole bunch of letters I knew I would never have the guts to send to…someone…while my mom and dad went out to buy me whip cream for my graduation cake. I hadn't spoken to Edward since the night before when we had the party. I saw…something…"

"Bella," Alice warned.

I sighed. "Okay, well I had seen Edward the night before kissing some girl, and it hurt. I started to think our relationship wasn't very healthy, because we depended on each other too much. So anyway, I heard sirens, and I walked back toward the house and found out Charlie and Renee were dead. The first thing I thought was that I needed Edward to soothe the pain I was feeling, and I ran to your house. He was cold and distant. He told me that you guys loved me more than him. I didn't understand where what he was saying was coming from and was confused. Then he told me he didn't want to be friends. He said he didn't even want to talk to _somebody like me_. So I ran."

Alice's eyes were as big as saucers. "Holy shit, Bella. I had no idea it was that bad. Why the hell—"

Her eyes glazed over and her hands dropped from the steering wheel. I let out a little shriek and leaned over to pull the car to the side of the road. She was having a vision. Even though I hadn't seen her forever, I remembered this look.

Alice's eyes snapped to my face. "Oh my god."

"What?"

She pried my fingers from the steering wheel and began to drive again.

"Alice, _what did you see_?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm not telling you."

I laughed without humor. "You're not telling me? Seriously?"

"Bella, I'll ruin it if I tell you. So shut up."

I crossed my arms and leaned back in the seat. "Then tell me if you saw my parents die."

The car was dead silent and I knew the answer before she spoke.

"I did."

**Okay, tell me what you thought! Again, I'm looking for someone to beta my stories, so if you're interested, or know anyone who might be interested, let me know! **

**The next chapter will be up by tomorrow. **

**-Maiya L**


	6. Chapter 6 Breathe Your Name

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. **

**The song for this chapter is called "Breathe Your Name" by "Sixpence None the Richer". They're a Christian group, but their music is very good. **

**BPOV**

I took a deep, calming breath and closed my eyes. I wanted so badly to know exactly what happened in the last few minutes of my parents' lives, but it would hurt. But part of the reason I came to Forks was to move on. I still missed my parents like crazy. I always would. But I'd eventually have to push past their death and make my own life happy. They'd want that for me, and I'd give it to them.

However, one of the steps in moving on was coming to terms with all that happened. I needed to feel all the pain in order to cope with it. I couldn't cope with the things I didn't know about.

So, for that reason, I asked Alice another question.

"What happened?"

She spoke slowly and softly.

"In the vision, I was in the back seat of the truck. A bullet hit the frame of the open window, and Charlie literally stepped on the gas pedal. Another car came speeding around the corner and hit the truck. Then it went black. I think in the vision, I died at the same moment your parents did."

We didn't speak for several minutes. I let my mind process the information thoroughly before asking any questions.

"Were my parents afraid?"

Alice shook her head slowly. "I don't think they were. I couldn't see it on their faces."

"What happened after you saw the vision?"

"We drove back to Forks as fast as we could. We were on a hiking trip, if you remember. Edward was a grump and refused to come. When we got to the house, it was too late, and you know what happened from there."

I shook my head. "I don't know what happened after."

Alice cringed. "Ask Edward."

I scowled. "Like hell I will."

Alice looked at my through the corner of her eye. "He deserves whatever you plan on doing to him."

I looked down at my lap. It disturbed me a little that Alice was alright with any pain I planned on inflicting to her twin brother. It only peaked my curiosity.

"Please tell me. I will talk to Edward eventually, but not now. Not yet. There's only so much I can deal with at once."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. With a little jolt, I remembered that Edward had always done that too. It was a twin thing they shared.

"Okay, Bella, okay," she muttered, clearly feeling exhausted. "But this is the last thing. I can only deal with so much, too, you know."

I clasped my hands together and waited anxiously.

"I could feel that Edward had upset you. I'm kind of all-knowing when it comes to Edward, if you know what I mean. I think he's the same with me. After you fled, he ran down the stairs and toward the back door, slamming it behind him. I ran after him and grabbed his arm, and just started screaming; demanding he tell me what he did to you. I wasn't strong enough to stop him but Emmett caught up and grabbed him. Edward yelled at Emmett and told him to let him go. Esme came and tried to stop us from fighting, but none of us listened. Emmett and I just continued screaming at Edward. I had to know what he said and did. It was all I could think of. Finally, he told us about the load of shit he fed you."

Alice's voice became more and more bitter. I felt my eyes sting with unshed tears, but I contained them. I was done with crying.

"After that, Emmett punched him. Edward punched him back and they got into a huge fight. Esme and I tried to stop them, but Edward pushed me to the ground and I hit my head on a tree. Hard. I wasn't really able to think coherently at that point. All that I remember after that was Esme kneeling beside me, on her phone with Carlisle, sobbing, and Emmett and Edward's shouts in the background."

The car was dead silent. I tried to swallow the invisible obtrusion in my throat so I could speak.

"I'm so sorry, Alice."

She glanced at me in surprise. "For what? Edward loosing control and acting like a complete lunatic and dick? Trust me, I'm sorry too."

We didn't speak again until she pulled into a parking spot.

"Alice?"

"Mhm?" she asked distractedly.

"I'm sorry I left you to deal with that on your own. I won't ever leave you again."

She smiled at me and leaned over to give me an awkward hug over the console. "Thank you, Bella. I really missed you."

We pulled apart and stepped from the car. I looked at the large shop in front of me. The name of the store was written in curly, flowing letters. It read a simple, "Alice's boutique". The windows were decorated with elaborately dressed mannequins. I gasped a little in surprise.

"It's beautiful, Alice!"

She smiled and looked down at the ground, slightly embarrassed. That was a first.

"Thanks."

She pushed open the door and I gasped again as I looked inside. Every surface was completely covered with unique clothing. A large glass desk cut the room in half, and behind it, fabrics and ribbons and buttons and every other sewing material imaginable covered the walls. It was another world.

"This is so cool!" I squealed excitedly. I never did like shopping, but this store made me want to shop for days.

Alice laughed and was about to say something when her phone began to ring. She looked at the screen and smiled before flipping it open and pressing it to her ear.

"Hi, Baby."

I hid my smile. It must be her fiancé. Brandon was his name, I had been told.

"I'm at the boutique right now with Bella," she said. "Yeah, yesterday, remember? Mhm…Okay, Baby, I'll see you soon then…Oh, are you coming for Thanksgiving dinner?" I watched her face fall dramatically.

"Why not?" she asked sullenly. She listened for a little while, then sighed. "Okay. Thanks for trying. Yeah. Bye."

She snapped the phone shut.

"Well, the good news is that Brandon's coming by to meet you. The bad news is he won't be able to come by for thanksgiving dinner."

"Why is that?" I asked sympathetically.

"He's working." I nodded thoughtfully. When I was younger, I had pictured Alice getting married to someone who would always be around and treat her like his queen. A man who would participate in all her crazy ideas and share her dreams. I suppose I wasn't being fair. I hadn't even met this Brandon.

At that precise moment, the door flew open.

"Brandon!" Alice squealed, running toward him. I was sure she was about to jump up and knock him over, like she usually did when she was excited to see someone, but as she began to bend her legs, she suddenly straightened them out and didn't even touch him at all.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked the tall man standing in the door. His dark hair was neatly trimmed. His eyes were a dark brown and his skin was olive toned. He wore a suit.

"I was at the coffee shop right down the street," he answered seriously and with little emotion. Alice ran over to me and grabbed my arm as she pulled me back toward her fiancé.

"Bella, this is Brandon. Brandon, Bella."

He looked me up and down. "Nice to meet you," he said monotonously, sans smile.

I raised my eyebrow slightly. "The pleasure is all mine," I said back.

He nodded and looked at his watch.

"My break is almost over. I probably won't be home tonight either, Mary, alright? I need to work late."

Alice nodded. "I think I'll sleep over at Mom's house anyway."

He bent down to hug her briefly before turning to leave. Without another word, he walked from the store. I watched him out the window until he was out of sight before turning to Alice with arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"Mary?" I asked with a smile in my voice.

She rolled her eyes. "He prefers to call me by my first name."

I frowned and studied her carefully. She became uncomfortable under my stare and ran to the wall of fabrics.

"Which one?" she asked, pointing to a yellow and black fabric and then pointing to a shimmery green material.

"The green," I said.

We stayed at the store for a few hours before driving home. The trip was fairly silent, but I didn't mind. I was still worrying about my meeting with Brandon.

It was obvious to me that he was so obviously wrong for Alice. It was like she was expected to worship him, when it was supposed to be the other way around. He barely even touched her for God's sake. What bothered me most was that Alice didn't even seem to care that he wouldn't be home all day and night.

It caused me to question whether she was really even in love with the man.

"Look, Bella, I know what you're thinking," she said as we drove into Forks. "Trust me, I'm not making a mistake."

"I just think you deserve someone who will love and cherish you like you're his whole world."

She sighed. "I used to think that, too, but how am I going to find that person? I don't even think they exist, Bella. If they did, I'm almost positive I would have had a vision of them."

I didn't answer her. Alice, settling for second best? What had happened to her since I had been gone?

"Bella, please trust me. I wouldn't marry him if I didn't feel like he wasn't right for me. I know exactly what I'm doing."

I looked at her and nodded carefully. "I do trust you Alice. I just want you to be happy."

"Thank you, Bella. I want to same for you, you know."

We pulled into the driveway and walked to the door of the house. All of the Cullens were seated in the family room, including Edward. Alice plopped down in the only open arm chair, leaving only one vacated spot next to Edward on the sofa. I sat down as far away as I could from him and started up conversation.

"So, what's on the agenda for this week?"

I could feel Edward's gaze on my face, but I tried to ignore it.

"Well, not much," Esme said. "But I'd like to do those live performances."

Oh, _shit_. I had completely forgotten about that. I might have been fine with it before, but now I really didn't want to sing in front of Edward. I couldn't do it yet.

"Um, Mom, I think it would be better if we just did some karaoke or something. Maybe we could perform our own songs next time we're all together," Alice suggested with a pointed glance at me, then Edward.

Esme caught on quickly. "Oh, alright. That sounds wonderful. When would everyone like to play?"

"We could do it tonight," I suggested. Might as well get it over with.

"Fantastic!" Esme agreed warmly. "I just bought some new CD's. Let me go get them; I want to show them to you."

Esme had excitedly shared the dozens (yes _dozens_) of albums she had purchased. After we had oo'ed an ahh'ed over them, we began to prepare dinner.

Esme, Alice and I did all the cooking, and the boys set the table before sitting outside.

"My, Bella," Esme said as she watched me chop an onion. "You've certainly become quite the chef."

I laughed and shook my head. "I don't know about that. I like cooking, but I wouldn't exactly call myself a _chef_."

"Well I like cooking, but I can't cut up an onion in five seconds," Alice said. We all laughed. This happiness I felt was refreshing.

"I'm going to get the dessert from the freezer so it can thaw," Esme said. "Would one of you mind helping me?"

"I'll help," I said right away.

"No, no, I'll do it, Bella," Alice said. "I'll be back before you know it."

She followed Esme out of the kitchen, leaving me with the vegetables waiting to be chopped up. I moved onto the carrots and began to slice when a voice startled me.

"Hey."

I shrieked and spun around, holding the knife out in front of me. Edward's eyes widened and he took a step back, his hands raised in surrender.

I took a deep breath of relief and then frowned. "Just to warn you, it's probably not a good idea to talk to me while I'm working with knives," I informed him.

He nodded but took a step closer to me. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for last night, and that I'll leave if you'd like me to."

I snorted. "Edward, I'm not going to tell you to leave just your presence makes things a bit awkward for me."

He smiled crookedly and I smiled hesitantly back.

"I don't know what's appropriate to say to you," he murmured.

I sighed. "Truthfully, I don't know either. Part of me wants to just act as if nothing ever happened, but we can't. It just doesn't work like that. I also want to forgive you, but I can't do that either. I've had seven years to do that and it still hasn't happened. So…I'm kind of at a loss of what to do, as lame as it sounds."

He pursed his lips and looked at the ground.

"None of the things I said to you that day were true, Bella," he said quietly.

"I don't need to you tell me that to know they were lies," I said in a hard voice. "I don't need you to tell me who I am."

He looked up at me from under her lashes. Neither of us spoke for almost a minute. Edward was the first to break the silence.

"You've changed a lot, Bella," he whispered. He seemed neither happy nor upset about his observation. He was curious.

"I had to," I whispered.

I looked up and met his eyes. As soon as I did, I felt something deep within me try and pull me closer to him, like a magnet. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to have him in my life forever. I wanted to live my life laughing with him and crying with him. I wanted my old friendship with him.

My heart tugged toward him painfully, and I shut my eyes in remorse. "Edward," I whispered so quietly I could barely hear it myself.

I leaned against the counter and took several deep breaths. I had to get a hold on myself, or I would break. I don't know how long I stood there with my eyes shut, but when Alice and Esme's approaching footsteps neared, my eyes shot open. Edward was gone. I turned around and continued where I had left off with the carrot.

"Sorry it took so long, Bella. Mom has a lot of freezers in the garage, and she had forgotten the dessert was shoved at the back of fridge number fourteen."

"No problem," I croaked out.

There was no way that this week would pass easily and painlessly.

**If you have time, I'd love to read your reviews! Critiques are very helpful!**

**-Maiya**


	7. Chapter 7 Broken Strings

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. If I did, I wouldn't have a job. **

"Bella? Bella? Earth to Bella!" Alice screeched into my ear.

I jumped a few inches in my seat and blinked furiously.

"Sorry," I muttered apologetically to the family seated at the table.

"Where'd you go?" Emmett asked teasingly.

"No where in particular," I lied.

I had been completely out of it since the short encounter with Edward in the kitchen. It completely freaked me out that being alone with him for only a minute almost made me break my resolve and let him back into my life.

Even now, sitting across from him at the table, I tried to come up with a way to erase the last several years.

"As I was saying," Alice said with a pointed look in my direction. "I've decided to have the wedding during spring break. Does that work for you, Mom?"

Esme nodded. "Yes, that should be fine."

Alice turned to me. "How about you, Bella?"

I thought about it for a minute. I didn't usually get much time off that time of year, but I could probably ask my boss for a few extra days.

"Yeah, I'll be able to make it."

Alice smiled and a little glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes. "Do you think you could be my maid of honor?" she asked.

I blinked a couple of times, completely surprised that she would ask me a question like that after only one day of rebuilding our friendship.

"Of course. Are you sure about that?" I whispered.

She nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, Bella! It would make me so happy!"

I felt my eyes prickle and I smiled back. "Then I'm honored."

She squealed and jumped up from the table to hug me. I hugged her back. I was pretty sure I had gotten more hugs in the last twenty four hours than I had in a year.

The rest of dinner passed smoothly and while I helped with the clean up in the kitchen, my phone vibrated in my pocket, notifying me that I had a new text message. I pulled it out, expecting a message from Rosalie, but it was only a small letter from the phone company. I frowned, suddenly worried as to exactly why Rose hadn't replied. She and her cousin were like text messaging addicts. I sent Jasper a quick text.

_Everything all right with you and Rose? –B_

I received a reply within a few seconds.

_Perfect.- J_

I frowned. Something was off with his reply.

_Did Rosalie forget her phone, by any chance? –B_

This time it was several minutes before he replied.

_No. _

My frown deepened but I tucked my phone back into my pocket. Whatever was going on with those two, I was sure I didn't want to know about it.

Almost immediately after the kitchen was cleaned, we started karaoke. Esme went first, followed by Carlisle, who was followed by Alice. I went after her, singing "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan.

The room went completely silent when I started to sing. I hadn't really performed for a group of people in so long, and I was definitely feeling the nerves. But when I just let myself get lost in the music, everything became easy and effortless. When I finished, the room broke out into applause. I just smiled and rolled my eyes, careful to keep my gaze away from the person whose opinion had mattered most.

Edward sang next. He was given the song, "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne. Everyone laughed and smiled, except for me. The hilarity of the song was lost on me the moment the words began to flow from his lips.

I remembered this feeling; the sensations that coursed through my body when I watched Edward sing. The crooked smile that turned up one of the corners of his lips as he sang the verse. The way his jaw moved minutely and the way his tongue slipped out to lick his lips before darting back into his mouth.

Shivers ran up my spine as I watched him sing the chorus. His neck muscles tightened ever so slightly and his eyes squeezed shut with the emotion of the song, whatever it happened to be. His head moved to the beat of the music and some of his hair fell into his eyes.

It really was the most beautiful thing I had and will ever see in my life, and my body's reaction to the moment only proved my words. That tightening, clenching feeling in my stomach, the shortness of my breath, the quivering of my hand when I raised it to brush a strand of hair from my face.

I remembered each of these feelings with perfect clarity. The feeling that was so special and surreal and perfect. I hadn't even realized that I had forgotten it over the past few years.

Everyone broke out into applause again and I joined in, though robotically. Edward blushed, which caused me to raise an eyebrow. It seems our reactions to being the center of attention had been reversed.

"Emmett's turn!" Esme declared.

He held his hands up in front of his chest, and waved them with wide eyes. "No way am I going to sing after both Bella and Edward."

"Well then, let's do some duets!" I suggest, grabbing Alice's arm and claiming her as my partner.

Emmett shook his head again. "And sing _with_ Edward? Nuh-uh. _I'm_ going with Alice."

"That makes more sense to me," Alice agreed. My eyes widened and I shot her a panicked look. How could she do this to me? That meant I'd have to be partnered up with—

"Edward and Bella are partners then!" Alice said cheerfully.

Oh God, what did I possibly do to deserve this?

"I'm going to go get the new duet CD," Esme said as she walked from the room.

"You two should go first," Alice said decidedly. "I wanna hear your voices again."

My heart started to beat faster and my eyes were still wide with panic. I had to get myself under control really soon or I would loose it.

"I need a water break!" I said quickly and ran into the kitchen before anyone could stop me or offer to get it for me.

Once behind closed doors, I took deep, calming breaths.

This didn't have to be so hard, right? All I had to do was blow it off as something stupid and trivial and I'd be okay. Singing with Edward. There didn't have to be anything to it.

I'd just sing whatever song the disk randomly chose for us and hope it didn't make this harder than it already was. Maybe we'd get a Disney song or something simple like that.

I filled a glass with water and drank it all in a few quick gulps. I think I can do this. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I _know_ I can.

My "Little Engine That Could" pep talk gave me some much needed strength, and I pushed open the French doors to the family room with courage.

"I'm ready!" I said immediately as I plopped down onto the couch beside Edward. Esme inserted the disk and we all waited to see what song would play.

The music slowly faded in and the lyrics started almost immediately. Neither Edward nor I was prepared for the song we were given, and we just stared at the words on the screen in shock for a minute.

_**Let me hold you for the last time  
It's the last chance to feel again  
But you broke me, now I can't feel anything**_

Oh, shit. "Broken Strings," by James Morrison, featuring Nelly Furtado. Seriously, God, what on earth did I do to make you hate me so much? I promise to pray every night and go to church once in a while if you just lay off of me.

Just as I was about to ask Esme to skip to the next song, Edward began to sing._**  
**__  
When I love you and so untrue  
I can't even convince myself  
When I'm speaking it's the voice of someone else_

Oh, it tears me up  
I tried to hold on but it hurts too much  
I tried to forgive but it's not enough  
To make it all okay

Forgiveness. Such a strange thing. Forgiveness might help a person come to terms with things, but it never fixed things that were broken beyond repair.__

You can't play our broken strings  
You can't feel anything  
That your heart don't want to feel  
I can't tell you something that ain't real

What a perfect analogy for Edward and I. Broken strings. You can't make everything happy and perfect and peaceful when you feel sad and hurt and confused. It just didn't work. __

Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse  
How can I give anymore  
When I love you a little less than before?  


I took a deep breath and began to sing my part, deciding to just loose myself in the words and music and just feel how angry and broken I actually was.

_  
Oh, what are we doing?  
We are turning into dust  
Playing house in the ruins of us_

Running back through the fire  
When there's nothing left to say  
It's like chasing the very last train  
When it's too late, too late

It _was_ too late. I couldn't fix what happened. I was trying to figure out how to find our old friendship when it wasn't even there. It had no hope of ever existing again. __

Oh, it tears me up  
I tried to hold on but it hurts too much  
I tried to forgive but it's not enough  
To make it all okay

You can't play our broken strings  
You can't feel anything  
That your heart don't want to feel  
I can't tell you something that ain't real

Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse  
How can I give anymore  
When I love you a little less than before?

But we're running through the fire  
When there's nothing left to say  
It's like chasing the very last train  
When we both know it's too late, too late

You can't play our broken strings  
You can't feel anything  
That your heart don't want to feel  
I can't tell you something that ain't real

Oh, the truth hurts and lies worse  
So how can I give anymore

There was nothing I had left to give him. I had handed him my heart and soul as a kid, and he crushed it as if it had meant nothing. I had to protect the little part of myself that I still had.

_  
When I love you a little less than before?  
Oh, you know that I love you a little less than before_

Let me hold you for the last time  
It's the last chance to feel again

The echoes of our voices stayed in the room when we were finished. I knew that everyone was aware of the purple elephant that stood in the middle of the room, but I ignored it and spoke.

"That was fun. Who's next?"

*

*

Edward tried to talk to me several times after singing. I think he noticed the revelation I had come to and my intent to keep him from my life. Esme and I had made hot cocoa and we all now sat in the living room in front of the fire. I made sure to sit across the room from Edward.

"Is Rosalie single?" Emmett asked curiously. I raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Are you interested in her by any chance?" I asked. He grinned and nodded.

"Hell yes."

I laughed and shook my head in exasperation. Rosalie and Emmett. Now that I thought about it, they would probably make a good couple. Rosalie never really got along well with men, for the sole reason that she liked to be the dominant one of the relationship. I think Emmett would probably like her for that. There was only the small problem that they lived in different countries.

"Yeah, she's single, Emmett. But she does live in Toronto, and I can promise you that there is no way she'd ever want to live in the USA."

He seemed disappointed, but grinned none the less.

"What does she do for work?" Esme asked with genuine interest.

"She's an interior designer. You should see the house I live in."

Esme glowed and grinned from ear to ear. "I've recently taken that on, and I love it! I'd love to speak with her about it sometime."

"I'm sure she'd love to tell you everything she knows," I laughed. The subject of careers reminded me of a question I'd been meaning to ask since I got here.

"Speaking of," I said, addressing Edward for the first time. "What do you?"

All pairs of eyes turned to him, and he dropped his own to the floor and mumbled something I couldn't understand.

"I'm sorry; I didn't quite catch that?"

He stared at the ground for several seconds more before looking up at me with a guarded expression, as if he was preparing for a battle.

"I said I'm a taxi driver."

His words didn't sink in at first. I just sat there, blinking with wide eyes until my brain processed and fully understood what he was saying.

"A taxi driver? Seriously?" Before I could stop myself, I burst out laughing. I tried to cover my mouth with my hand, but a few giggles still escaped.

Edward Cullen, straight A, high-school-hottie, Harvard acceptant, had grown up to drive people around for a living. I couldn't believe it, or understand it. Why the hell would he willingly choose a job like that?

"Abso-fucking-lutely. Are you seriously laughing at me, Bella?" He asked angrily as Esme chided him for his language.

"Um, yeah, I am," I laughed between the words. So much for a brilliant, witty reply.

Edward slammed his cup of hot chocolate down on the coffee table with force. I stopped laughing, completely surprised at his anger.

"Have you lost all sense of tact since I last saw you? Do you think it's funny to laugh at people who have low paying jobs like me?"

I raised an eyebrow but answered him honestly. "If it were anyone but you, I wouldn't be laughing."

"Well, I guess you got back at me for what I did to you that night," he said sarcastically.

A shocked gasp tore from my lips. I was really pissed off now.

"I'm sorry, but do you honestly think I'm laughing at you because I'm still so fucking pissed off at you for doing that to me?"

I expected Esme to reprimand my language, but when she didn't, I looked around the room, surprised to see that everyone had left.

"Why else would you?" he demanded venomously.

"_Because _there's no reason a Harvard graduate would need to work for a taxi company!"

"I didn't fucking graduate from Harvard! I dropped out!"

My eyes grew the size of saucers, and I leaned back. I noticed that both Edward and I were breathing heavily from the force of our anger, and I closed my eyes for a minute to calm down. When I opened my eyes, Edward was staring at me, still angrily, however a little of the fire in his eyes had gone away.

"The Edward Cullen I knew wasn't dumb enough to drop out of a school like that, or any school for that matter. He also wasn't a lazy asshole who didn't have the time or effort to go back to school or find a better job."

I got up from the couch and ran from the room into Alice's bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me.

Edward Cullen wasn't the same as he had been in high school. This was a new Edward Cullen; someone I didn't even know. He wanted to act like he was Mr. Perfect and had a right to shout and scream at me like that?

Game on.

*

*

The next morning I woke up, feeling considerably better. Alice was still asleep, so I grabbed my toiletries and crept across the hall to the spare bathroom. As I showered, I wondered to myself what exactly I would do and say to Edward. I didn't know where we stood exactly. It was a weird kind of place between tackling him and kissing the hell out of him and screaming at him until I lost my voice.

Whatever happened, I would just have to go with it. It felt a little strange to tackle a problem like this without a plan, but at the same time, it was refreshing and brought on a positive outlook.

Just as I finished getting dressed, I heard a bang and Emmett's voice, yelling, "That was awesome!"

With a worried frown, I ran down the stairs.

RosaliePOV

I turned onto the street I had found out that this 'Edward' had lived on. The song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" by "Abba" blasted through the speakers of my convertible. I pulled up the driveway of a huge house and threw open the door, not bothering to shut off my vehicle.

A big muscular guy with curly hair came toward me. Under any other circumstances, I would have thought he was super hot.

"Hey! Who are you?" he asked. I glared at him and stalked toward the door of the house.

"Wait! I know you! You're the hot blond in Bella's pictures!"

I turned on the spot and pointed a finger at him as I shot him daggers. The smile fell from his face slightly.

"You'd better hope to God for the sake of your life that you're not Edward," I hissed.

He held up his arms in surrender. "No, I'm not. I'm his brother."

I turned around again and resumed my stalk to the front door. I threw it open and walked across an enormously large foyer, into a kitchen. I could hear the big guy following me, but I ignored it. A guy with bronze hair stood in the kitchen, eating a muffin. I looked at the big guy over my shoulders and pointed to the other guy in the kitchen.

"Is this him?" I asked.

"Yup!" he said cheerily. I marched across the room and grabbed the bronze haired guy's arms and twisted them behind his back.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" he asked.

I smiled at him sweetly. "Edward, right?"

He nodded with bewilderment.

"Oh, so _you're_ the guy that abandoned Bella right after her parents died, and came back unexpectedly."

The color drained from his face.

"Oh no."

I grinned. "Oh yeah."

And then I pulled my arm back before letting it shoot forwards and smash into his face.

He fell to the ground with no more than a quiet 'fuck' and blood spewed from his nose. It was quite pathetic actually. I pulled out my phone and took a picture, incase Bella was out and didn't have a chance to see this.

"That was awesome!" the big guy yelled, pumping his fist up into the air.

"And don't you forget it," I said with satisfaction.

"Rose?"

Bella stood in the doorway behind the big guy, a look of pure shock plastered on her face.

"Bella!" the big guy exclaimed. "You should have seen it! Your hot roommate just walked right into the house and punched Edward! It was fucking hilarious! I've never seen him get taken down by a girl!" He burst out into laughter.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're a real supportive brother, Emmett," she said dryly. Hmm. So that was his name.

Weird, but cute.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as I turned my attention back to the pathetic pile of filth on the floor.

"Making sure you were alright. After I got your text, I was worried." I kicked the side of Edward's head and he groaned. "Get up you bastard," I said to him before looking back at Bella.

"That, and I couldn't miss an opportunity to beat the shit out of him."

Bella cracked a smile.

Edward was still lying on the floor. "Get up!" I screeched. "The longer you're on the ground, the more your punishment will hurt!"

He quickly stood and shot a frantic glance at Bella.

I looked back and forth between them with amusement. "Oh, I see. You're waiting for Bella to save you." I chuckled darkly. "Sorry, Eddie-boy…"

"Hey, that's what _I_ call him!" Emmett yelled.

"…but Bella's a different person now, thanks to you."

He continued to look at Bella with pleading eyes.

She smiled bigger. "Sorry, Edward," she said in a voice that was not sorry at all. He stared at her like he couldn't believe what she had just said and I took the opportunity to kick him right in between his legs.

"Fuck!" he said, this time not as quietly, and once again fell to the floor.

I pretended to wipe my hands on my shirt.

"Job well done," Bella approved.

"Thank you."

Emmett whistled. "That was pretty hot."

I grinned at him. "Yeah, I know."


	8. Chapter 8 Long Shot

(Disclaimer: Characters belong to SM)

EPOV

Emmett continued to laugh as I lay on the ground, groaning in pain. I could hear three girls laughing and the distinct sound of Alice's squeal. Then the door was slammed shut and the Abba music faded away as the car drove away.

The clicking of Esme's heels came into the room and she gasped.

"Emmett!" she scolded, hitting his shoulder.

"It—wasn't—me!" he guffawed. "You know that girl, Rosalie?"

"Bella's roommate?"

"Yup! She pulled up to the house in her hot red convertible and marched into the house like she owned the place! Then she went up to Edward and was all like 'Are you the guy who left Bella the night her parents died?' and he was like 'oh no' and she was all 'oh yeah', and then she punched him and kicked him in the nuts!" He began a whole new round of laughter while I pulled myself up off the ground, gripping the edge of the counter for support.

"Are you all right, Edward?" Esme asked, trying her best to be sympathetic. However, I could see the satisfaction and amusement glowing in her eyes.

"Yeah, fine," I muttered sullenly.

"You totally deserved it, man," Emmett said, his laughter having died down.

"I know." And I did. I deserved much, much more than what I was given. I was glad that Bella had made a friend as protective as Rosalie was. She might be a bit insane, but she obviously cared about Bella.

"Did you see how she smiled when she said sorry to me?" I asked.

"Who, Bella?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah." Who else?

"What, did you think she'd try to protect you?"

I didn't answer. Emmett snorted and left the room as Esme leaned against the counter beside me. Neither of us spoke for a short while.

"She's changed," I finally said.

"She has," Esme agreed with a slight nod. "For the better, in my opinion."

A couple minutes went by before I spoke again. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"I can't answer that for you, Edward. The only advice I can give you is that you need to try to listen to her, and in return she'll listen to you."

"Thanksgiving is tomorrow," I stated dumbly.

"It is," she said with a sigh. "Bella leaves the day after."

That wouldn't give me much time to make even the smallest amount of progress with her. I'd have to try to talk to her again. We had barely spoken yesterday and it had instantly turned into a fight which had lasted all of thirty seconds at best before Bella had gotten up and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Being around her felt so strange. There were things she would do that I remembered with perfect clarity, like biting her lip and brushing the bridge of her nose with her forefinger when she was thoughtful. Then I'd notice the things she wasn't doing—like blushing constantly, hiding her face with her hair, nibbling on her fingernails and twisting her fingers anxiously. She'd grown into a beautiful, confident woman who didn't take shit from anyone.

And then she'd speak in a strong voice that told people she knew exactly what she was talking about. Her personality had changed so much that it was almost impossible to recognize her. My best friend had been a shy, beautiful, people-pleasing girl that everyone thought would grow into a woman who married a wealthy man, baked cookies for the neighbors, and had a picture-perfect life.

Jesus, we had been wrong.

I didn't have any idea who this Bella was, but I knew for a fact that I wanted to get to know her even if it meant begging for her forgiveness for the rest of my life.

*

*

APOV

"Alice!" Bella called as I skipped down the stairs. At her side stood the strong blond woman from her pictures. Rosalie. I walked straight up to her and gave her a hug. She turned rigid but relaxed after a while.

"Hi, Rosalie!" I smiled cheerfully. "We're going to be great friends."

She raised an eyebrow and said, "I highly doubt that."

A copper glint caught my eye and I gasped as I took in the purse she held. She followed my gaze and held onto the bag a little more tightly.

"Oh. My. God!" I squealed. "Is that a Miss Violet purse?"

Her grip relaxed and she smiled slightly. "A one of a kind original." I gaped at her and Bella laughed.

"Meet Alice," she said to her friend. "She's been into fashion ever since I can remember and owns her own clothing store now."

Rosalie's lips curved up into a satisfied smile. "Maybe we will be friends."

We all started to laugh and Rosalie motioned for us to follow her outside.

"I passed this really cool coffee shop on the way here. Let's talk there for a while," she suggested, jumping into the front seat of her convertible. Bella and I followed suit and as we pulled away from the house, Rosalie asked me, "So, how close are you and Edward?"

"Not very anymore," I said quietly before grinning. "But what you just did to him almost made me wet my pants laughing! His face was so hilarious!"

She frowned. "How did you know about that?"

Bella smiled at and then looked at Rosalie. "Alice is pretty special."

*

*

BPOV

It surprised me how quickly Alice and Rosalie became friends. Rose had always taken forever to warm up to people, with the exception of me, so it meant a lot that my two friends, from past and present, got along perfectly. Sitting in the shop, drinking coffee as we chatted about nothing in particular, felt absolutely perfect and right.

An even greater surprise was how easily Rosalie believed that Alice had visions. After listening to Alice and I explain everything to her, she was silent for a little while before asking the little pixie-like woman what it was like.

Of course, my good mood was instantly killed when we pulled into the Cullen's driveway and I saw a nervous Edward shuffling from foot to foot. I groaned and put my head in my hands. Alice sighed but giggled a bit, probably amused with my discomfort, and Rosalie raised one delicate eyebrow before rolling her eyes in distaste.

"Want me to can him again?" she asked as if it was no big deal at all.

"No," I sighed. "I have to straighten out some stuff with him before I leave anyway."

Rosalie passed by Edward with a menacing look and Alice gave him a little thumbs up before she followed Rosalie into the house. I wearily walked over to where he stood and crossed my arms defensively, waiting for him to say whatever it was he needed first.

"Erm…Rosalie seems like a good friend," he began slowly. I rolled my eyes.

"Just say whatever you need to say, Edward."

He sighed and shook his head before squaring his shoulders and looking me in the eye. "First of all, I'm sorry for the way things turned out last night."

"Yeah, me too," I muttered, not really meaning it. I was still positive he needed a good kick in the ass and to go find a better job. If he heard the sarcasm in my voice, he didn't say anything about it.

"I also wanted to give you these before you left." He held out a manila envelope with my name scrawled on it in sparkly black ink. I started. Strangely enough, I knew exactly what pen that ink had come from.

"_Happy birthday, Edward!" I said cheerily, handing him a small, neatly wrapped box. "That's only a small part of your gift."_

_He tore open the package and burst out laughing when he saw the item inside. _

"_A box of your special black pens?" he chuckled. _

"_Of course."_

_He shook his head. "You are one weird girl, Isabella Swan."_

All through high school, I never used any other pens from but one brand and color. I must have gone through almost one-hundred of them. Edward had always teased me about my strange obsession, saying that most teenagers got addicted to cigarettes and other drugs—not glittery black pens. As a sort of joke, I had given him a pack for his sixteenth birthday. He never used them except for when he needed to write something that I would later read.

Recovering, I took it from his hands and asked, "What is it?"

Quietly, he spoke. "Pictures from the concert at senior prom." Hurrying now, he said, "You don't have to look at them or keep them, but I just thought you might want them."

Looking at the ground, I spoke. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Neither of us spoke for a minute and finally Edward announced that he was going to go inside.

"Wait," I said quickly. "I want to set some things straight first."

He turned back to me and looked ten years older than he actually was. "Yes?" he asked slowly. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and spoke so I wouldn't have to see all the emotions in his eyes as he listened to what I had to say.

"I um, I want you to know that I think I've sort of forgiven you. However…" I trailed off briefly, collecting the words I wanted him to hear. "However, I really don't think it's a good idea for us to be friends."

A couple beats passed, and then I heard Edward inhale shakily.

"And why not?" he asked in a controlled voice. My heart ached; he used to always use this voice when he was angry with me and didn't want to yell or make me feel bad.

"I just…I don't…As a child, I…" with a frustrated sigh, I tried to think of some way I could explain my decision without bearing my heart to him. "It's not what I need," I finally finished. Edward frowned and stared at the ground for an immeasurable moment.

"What _do_ you need?" he finally whispered, meeting my eyes.

"I don't really know, to be honest," I answered truthfully.

"Then how do you know I'm not it?" he demanded, gaining some confidence.

"I just do," I said defensively, creasing my forehead. Rose hated when I did that. She insisted I would get premature wrinkles.

"Well I think you're wrong," he stated simply. I was about to protest, but he spoke again. "I know we've both dealt…with things…differently over the past seven years, but I cannot believe that you've been as happy as you were when we were in school."

"I'm not a teenager anymore, Edward."

"I know you're not," he said easily. "What's your point?"

"My point _is_," I stressed, "that the things that made me happy as a kid won't make me happy anymore." Why couldn't he just drop it? Why was he trying to change my mind? I refused to believe that he wanted me in his life this much.

"Why not?"

"Why can't you stop asking me the same question?"

"Why can't you stop making this so difficult?" he shot back. I groaned in a mixture of confusion, frustration, and anger.

"Bella," Edward said carefully. "Look, I know we both have a lot of things we're withholding that we're not ready to share yet. It could be affecting you're decision. All I'm asking is a chance to fix things with you. I'm a different person now—"

"No kidding," I muttered. He shot me an angry look.

"And 'so are you' would be a huge understatement," he continued. I shot daggers at him but kept quiet. "I want to get to know the new Bella. All I want is to try. If you agree, I promise I'll let you have an out whenever you want. I won't push you or hold you back. Just give me _one chance_," he pleaded, eyes wide. And, damn him, I got trapped in those evil green things.

"Okay?" He blinked several times, freeing me from his gaze.

"Seriously?" he asked with a small laugh, emitting more light and joy from his face than I had seen the entire time I'd been here.

"I mean, I'll think about it." His smile fell slightly, but he still shone. "I'll let you know before I leave."

He nodded quickly and opened his mouth to speak when Esme called from the front door, "Supper time!"

*

*

The day after thanksgiving, I was shaken awake by Alice. Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I sat up.

"What?"

"Rosalie changed your flight to early this morning. We need to leave the house in an hour."

I stood up quickly, fully awake. "What time is it?"

"Five o'clock."

Jeez. Why the hell would Rosalie feel the need to change the flight to this early in the morning? I'd definitely be sleeping on the plane.

I ran around the house packing up my things and was ready five minutes before six. Creeping down the hallway, I peeked into Edward's room only to find him asleep. I crept into his room and grabbed one of the black pens from the desk drawer quietly so as not to wake him. On a notepad I scribbled down my answer. _Friends, or not?_


End file.
